Tracking West
Good Morning Sacramento
Although Sacramento is known for its historic gold rush significance, start of the Central Pacific, and being the capital of California, for railfans it means a lot more than that. As mentioned, the Central Pacific originated in Sacramento, however, many other notable pieces of railroad history included Southern Pacific's large and famous Sacramento Shops which laid next to downtown, SP also had their Roseville Yard to the east, the Western Pacific's Jeffery Car Shops were located in South Sacramento, Sacramento Northern had a massive presence, as well as many other things. However, as time went on many lines would be abandoned and facilities would shut down. This would leave the WP's shops looking like an abandoned lot, the SN was torn out, and SP's once bustling shops became eerily quiet, with the California State Railroad Museum taking over some of the buildings to store equipment. However, next to SP's shops was the station which was still open due to the creation of Amtrak saving passenger rail in the United States. However, eventually it was time for a makeover.
In the early 2010s the original right of way was torn out to be rerouted through an open field between the original platform and the shops. This new design cut out the very sharp s-curve as well as rerouting the mainline around the station platforms, therefore making it easier for freight traffic to navigate through the area. This also meant that Amtrak had their own area to hold their trains and a new and improved platform to replace the aging one from the 1920s. Interestingly, the original platforms were not demolished but rather one was taken over by light rail, and the other was just left abandoned.
Seen in this photo, Amtrak 11 storms out of Sacramento in the early morning with the remains of the SP all around. On the left is where the SP's Sacramento Shops would have once been, and in the background behind the power is the original platforms, with the old right of way no longer traceable.
Good Morning Sacramento
Although Sacramento is known for its historic gold rush significance, start of the Central Pacific, and being the capital of California, for railfans it means a lot more than that. As mentioned, the Central Pacific originated in Sacramento, however, many other notable pieces of railroad history included Southern Pacific's large and famous Sacramento Shops which laid next to downtown, SP also had their Roseville Yard to the east, the Western Pacific's Jeffery Car Shops were located in South Sacramento, Sacramento Northern had a massive presence, as well as many other things. However, as time went on many lines would be abandoned and facilities would shut down. This would leave the WP's shops looking like an abandoned lot, the SN was torn out, and SP's once bustling shops became eerily quiet, with the California State Railroad Museum taking over some of the buildings to store equipment. However, next to SP's shops was the station which was still open due to the creation of Amtrak saving passenger rail in the United States. However, eventually it was time for a makeover.
In the early 2010s the original right of way was torn out to be rerouted through an open field between the original platform and the shops. This new design cut out the very sharp s-curve as well as rerouting the mainline around the station platforms, therefore making it easier for freight traffic to navigate through the area. This also meant that Amtrak had their own area to hold their trains and a new and improved platform to replace the aging one from the 1920s. Interestingly, the original platforms were not demolished but rather one was taken over by light rail, and the other was just left abandoned.
Seen in this photo, Amtrak 11 storms out of Sacramento in the early morning with the remains of the SP all around. On the left is where the SP's Sacramento Shops would have once been, and in the background behind the power is the original platforms, with the old right of way no longer traceable.